Saturday, March 31, 2012

Kiddos


Here's an updated pic of Charlotte. I really like having her take her daily naps on her tummy. She sleeps long and deep this way! Paton hated being on his tummy and didn't voluntarily lay on his stomach until many months old. Thankfully, at 5 weeks old, Charlotte doesn't seem to mind.


Paton's art has been coming along quite well! His favorite things to draw are balloons (above) and Mickey Mouse (below).


God Provides


One of the many things I've learned from living here is that it can be hard work living here! Our home is heated by propane, and as I'm sure you're aware, propane is certainly not cheap! So, in order to be as resourceful as possible, Greg spend many days in the woods last summer gathering dead wood from fallen trees. We have a wonderful wood stove in the basement that can heat our home to a very comfortable temperature even on the coldest of days. But even after several days of gathering and splitting, we didn't have quite enough to last us through the winter.


How good God was in providing excellent deals on chords of wood on ksl.com (kind of like our own local craigslist.com) and through folks from our church who just wanted to get rid of their wood. Added to that is the blessing of an early spring! So not only do we have a head start on our wood supply for next year, but we also conserved plenty of propane for this year by heating our home primarily by our wood stove!


I enjoy working outside, so I'm looking forward to helping my husband gather, split, and stack firewood for this year (last year I was pregnant). I'm also looking forward to seeing how the Lord will provide for us again!



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Organized!

Ever since Charlotte was born four weeks ago, I've had company here at my house. First my parents, then my mother-in-law, and then my father-in-law. The latter just left this morning. While he was here, he and Greg had several projects lined up. First, Big Dog (my father in law) completely organized our garage.





Everything has a place and is in its place. This project had been bothering Greg, so while he was at a meeting all day Thursday, Big Dog took it on! I can now get in and out of my vehicles without smashing into something!

The other big project was making me some shelves in my laundry room. Up until this week, I just stacked several bins and things on top of each other, and, predictably, it was a chore to find where things where.


Big Dog cleared out the room so you don't see the bins scattered everywhere. Below is where the bins are usually stacked.




And here is the product of their hard work! These shelves are very sturdy and make plenty of space for my bins.


Another bit of organizational efforts below. Towards the back of the laundry room, Big Dog installed hooks for our ax, hatchet, and maul.


Thanks, Big Dog! I reap the rewards of your labor!


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Learning through parenting

Following my parents return to CO, my mother-in-law flew in from GA to spend a week helping us out and loving up on her two Utah grandchildren. She's a terrific cook so Greg and I benefited from her culinary genius! She also prepared some meals ahead for the week that my father-in-law would come to visit. He actually flew in this morning.

Below is Charlotte dressed up for her visit to the pediatrician's office. As you can see, she's not the happiest with this arrangement. The doctor's visit was terrific though--she's healthy and back up to her birth weight.



Nana and Charlotte bonded during this week, and Nana was christened with several of Charlotte's blow-outs!


We got pretty carried away dressing Charlotte up and taking pictures. She's really easy to photograph!


You know, it's interesting how I'm learning through parenting Paton. Obviously, I'm going through sleep deprivation since Charlotte needs to eat a few times during the night. And I can't help remembering that even though I'm tired during the day, I'm still responsible for my attitude and actions. After all, I hold Paton (my toddler) to that standard. No matter how short the nap or how disturbed the night's rest, he still isn't allowed to throw temper tantrums or fits during the day. Obedience is non-negotiable. As I voiced this to a very loving grandparent (can't remember which one), it immediately struck me that God expects the same from me! Funny how that works.